Hastings Rare Metals Joins REITA To Maximise Benefit Of Rare Earths

Apr. 2, 2012 2:07 AM ET

Hastings Rare Metals (ASX: HAS) has become a new corporate member of the Rare Earth Industry and Technology Association (REITA), which will likely benefit the development of the company's Hastings Heavy Rare Earth Project in Western Australia.

REITA is a worldwide association of stakeholders dedicated to the creation of globally competitive and diverse supply chains for rare earth related technologies.

Its members include Quest, Molycorp/Neo Materials, Solvay/Rhodia, General Electric, General Motors and Ford.

Technical director Steve Mackowski said the future for rare earth development is positive, particularly for high technology and green energy applications, served by resources such as those that occur at the Hastings project.

"It is a global responsibility to develop the dysprosium and yttrium industries to maximise the societal benefit that these minerals present," he said.

"In co-operation with leaders like REITA, we can develop the heavy rare earth potential of Hastings, achieving financial, social and environmental objectives."

Towards the end of last month, Hastings announced it had recruited the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to assist the company in moving towards Pre-Feasibility at Hastings.

Prior to ANSTO's appointment, Hastings announce it had appointed leading project management and engineering firm Jacobs Engineering Group as manager of the Hastings Project.

With the assistance of Jacobs, one of the world's largest engineering firms listed on the NYSE with a market capitalisation of $5.75 billion, and ANSTO Hastings will progress its Heavy Rare Earth Project through to the Pre-Feasibility stage.

The Hastings Project has a JORC Resource of 36.2 million tonnes at 0.21% total rare earth oxides, 0.35% niobium and 0.89% zanthium.

A recent Scoping Study ranks the Hastings project as one of the top heavy rare earth projects in the world, with an extremely high proportion of heavy rare earth oxides at 85% of total rare earth oxide ratio.